Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Imagine
that you have 58 children. I know, you’ll either be full of horror at the
thought of the chaos or immersing yourself in the parental bliss that only
comes from the love of a small human; but stay with me – there is a serious
analogy to be made here... You
decide to pay them all pocket money, so you split your finances into several
pots. You decide to incentivise the kids to take up activities – so you use one
pot to match-fund their own contributions: the more money they put in, the more
you’ll give them. The problem is, Johnny and Ian have so much money already
that you can’t afford to match-fund them penny for penny, so you give them a
bit less than they might have been entitled to. All
of the kids help around the house, but Anthony generates more cash than some of
the others; so you have a separate pot which pays each child a proportion of
what they generate for the household. Richard and Claire prefer winter
activities, but the majority of days that they can attend are cold, wet,
miserable, Mondays – so you give them a few extra quid for their effort. Simon
and Charles perform at a higher level; you therefore have another pot which
rewards them for playing better quality games. In the meantime, you are keen to
ensure that everyone plays nice and fairly, so you keep yet another pot of
money to give to the referees and adjudicators. All
of the children think that the division of pocket money is unfair, which
confirms in your mind that you’ve probably got it about right. That, in a
nut-shell, is the way in which revenue from the off-course betting industry is
distributed by the Horserace Betting Levy Board to racecourses. Most
racecourse managers believe that their track deserves a greater proportion of
Levy funding and I am no exception. In particular, Cartmel receives funding for
just five race-days in total – even though a new racecourse could quickly build
up funding for fourteen or more days. In effect, the HBLB are saying that
children will only be rewarded for taking on extra activities if they are less
than 10 years old. I know a few parents who wouldn’t stand for that one! The
good news, for all racecourses (including Wetherby where Tony McCoy could score
his easiest ever victory on At Fishers Cross this Saturday - and Ayr, where Plus Jamais could make an interesting first appearance in a handicap for Jim Goldie), is that the racing
and betting industries have recently agreed an historic four-year deal with
regard to base levy income. In a rapidly changing world, particularly where
on-line and off-shore betting is involved, this brief period of stability will
permit both parties to work on a revision of the commercial mechanisms
operating between horse-racing and betting. More fascinating still, the bookmakers have agreed to put an additional £4.5 million
into a new levy-pot – now we’ve just got to decide how it will be split between
the children.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

According
to the newspapers last weekend, scientists have predicted that a giant asteroid
could collide with Earth on 26th August, 2032, just two days before
the start of Cartmel’s August Bank Holiday weekend meeting. The
rock, which is 1,345 feet across (about two furlongs – or the distance between
the grandstand and the Cartmel scout-hut, for those with a good knowledge of
local geography), could cause an explosion fifty times as forceful as the most
powerful nuclear bomb. This will obviously be bad news for racegoers and could
spoil a lot of picnics. I thought it only fair to warn you, as Cartmel
customers are renowned for booking their tickets and accommodation very early. So
how likely is it that the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, located in
southern Ukraine, have got this wrong? Astronomers in Italy, Spain, Britain and
Russia have confirmed the presence of the rock, although the consensus is that
the chances of it actually hitting us are about 63,000–1. I regularly place
bets with odds of similar probability, so I’m not sure how much comfort to take
from this. However, I have devised a little test. I
suggest that you place a £1 accumulator bet on the following four horses
running in Grade 1 races later this season:

Captain Chris at 25/1 in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day – a great price about a horse who is sure to be aimed at the race and will be there or thereabouts.

The New One at 4/1 for the Champion Hurdle in March – skinny price, but he has already been out and advertised his championship claims this season.

First Lieutenant at 14/1 for the Gold Cup, also in March – slightly disappointing on his recent seasonal debut, but will be trained with Cheltenham in mind.

The Knoxs at 33/1 for the Grand National in April – you might have to ask for a special ‘quote’ from your bookmaker on this one, but he was bought a few months ago by the connections of last year’s National winner and will surely be trained for the race.

The
combined odds are slightly more than the chances of being hit by the rock from
outer-space, so if they all win we should start to get worried. Although if
they do all win, we can have a big party and forget about Armageddon for a
while – we should have at least another 131 racedays at Cartmel before the
meteor strikes.

Thursday, 17 October 2013

The
racing industry has invested millions of pounds in the development of Champions
Day at Ascot racecourse. The fixture, which takes place on Saturday, has prize
money of £3.4 million and has received a huge amount of marketing support.
While the objective is to create an exciting end to the Flat racing season, the
problem is that… well… it’s taking place at the END of the Flat season.
For
the second consecutive year the official going description is likely to be
soft, meaning that some of the more exciting horses will be non-runners. Others
have either finished for the season already or have overseas engagements in
their diaries – where the climate is better suited to Flat racing at this time
of year. Ascot Chief Executive, Charles Barnett, says that he is content with
the October fixture slot – pointing out that an attendance of 25,000, if the
weather is kind, would still be “a very good crowd”. There
is also racing at Cheltenham on Saturday, where the prize fund is about one
twentieth of the size of Ascot’s. Yet, if given TV coverage, Cheltenham’s card
would probably generate a similar amount of betting interest. The crowd at
Cheltenham, with relatively little marketing effort compared to that dedicated to
Champions Day, will be around eighteen thousand and will consist of enthusiasts
who will attend in virtually any weather, rain or shine. This
week will see the seasonal debuts of some of the most exciting horses in
training including First Lieutenant and Noble Prince at Punchestown, The New
One and Rock On Ruby at Kempton and Balthazar King at Cheltenham – all of them
previous Cheltenham Festival winners over jumps. The betting public will be at
least as interested to see these horses as any appearing at Ascot. But of all
the racing this weekend, I am most looking forward to Kelso – where Knockara
Beau seeks his fifth course win at the Scottish Borders jumps track. Knockara
Beau, if he appears, will be running off the same handicap mark as when winning
in November last year. He is an old favourite of mine and will be familiar to
Cartmel racegoers as he also won a novice chase here a few seasons ago. And
that is the thing about jump racing: we look forward to seeing the same horses
appear year after year – and when they run, all interest in Flat racing
evaporates. Incidentally, if you fancy a trip to Kelso, we shall be taking a coach there for the fixture on Saturday 9th November. We've got together with Kelso and VisitScotland to create a fantastic package which includes coach travel, admission, a hog roast roll and a drink plus other benefits for just £20. If you are interested, you must call the Cartmel racecourse office before Thursday 24th October.I
suspect that we won’t know whether Champions Day is a success or not for
another ten or twenty years; it isn’t a short term project. The fixture needs
to develop a following and breed anticipation in the same way that punters are
inspired by the mere mention of the Cheltenham Festival. The chances of success
would be improved if the event could be staged in the Summer, or perhaps even
another country – but I wish everyone involved the very best of luck.

Thursday, 10 October 2013

When
the BHA finally published the 2014 fixture list this week, it contained 1,464
events including 7 at Cartmel. While it may sound pretty mundane to state that
we have been allocated an almost-identical list of fixtures to last year, the
process has involved a significant amount of time and effort over the last few
months as bargains have been struck between BHA, the Levy Board, the Horsemen
and racecourses. Just
under 40% of the fixtures are over jumps, 40% are Flat fixtures on turf, while
the remaining 20% are Flat race meetings taking place on all-weather surfaces.
The most controversial development is the introduction of a new all-weather
fixture worth £1 million at Lingfield Park – because it has been scheduled to
take place on Good Friday, a day which has traditionally been kept clear of racing. The
decision to race on Good Friday will be welcomed by the off-course betting
industry, who will benefit significantly from increased turnover. However, I
can’t help feeling that it will be a retrograde step for racing enthusiasts and
some participants of the sport. For me, an enforced day off brings on
withdrawal symptoms and makes me look forward to racing on Easter Saturday with
renewed enthusiasm. As a child, I didn’t think Christmas Day could get any
better, but now that it is the only racing-free day in the calendar, there's a
new reason to look forward to it - the super-accentuated excitement of Boxing
Day! On
receiving the new fixture list, the first thing that I do is highlight the
important days with a felt-tip pen. Apart from three Cartmel race-days in May (24th , 26th
& 28th), two in July (19th & 21st) and
two in August (23rd & 25th), there is the Cheltenham
Festival (11th – 14th March) and Aintree Grand National
(5th April). This year we are planning to stage lunches in the
Grandstand on several of the major dates, with live action being shown on large
televisions. The
basic structure of the fixture list allows key races to slot into a familiar
and reassuring pattern. For example, a couple of visitors from the West Country
on Monday told me that they were “looking forward to the start of the jumps
season at Chepstow this weekend”. Now… the 2013/14 jumps season started months
ago at Wetherby and Ludlow, and there was jump racing at Chepstow as recently
as ten days ago – so what on earth were they talking about? Well...
for many years the first really valuable race of the jumps season was a limited handicap for
4 year old hurdlers at Chepstow. It attracted the best of the previous season’s juveniles
and it was always interesting to see how they had developed over the Summer.
The race still exists, though slightly less prestigious than it once was. While
Pistol looks well handicapped on his pre-festival form, I am recommending For
Two, who looked a lovely prospect last year.

Friday, 4 October 2013

I’m
not sure whether there is a collective noun for racecourse managers – an
‘embarrassment’ perhaps, although I believe that applies to pandas. Apparently
you can have a ‘chattering’ of choughs or a ‘rabble’ of butterflies, either of
which might be quite good substitutes. On
Tuesday this week, the Racecourse Association hosted its Northern Area meeting
at York, attended by racecourse colleagues from the north of England and
Scotland. High on our agenda was the topic of prize money and, in particular,
recent negotiations with the Horsemen regarding an agreement as to how much
money each racecourse should contribute towards the total prize fund.
‘Horsemen’, by the way, is the collective noun for a group of the industry’s
stakeholders including racehorse owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys and
stable-staff. Perhaps we could call them an 'apocalypse' (an
apocalypse of jockeys?) – although negotiations aren’t going so badly as to
signal the end of the racing world just yet. While
most racehorse owners never suppose that they will make a profit from their
racing activities, prize money oils the wheels that make the racing industry go
round. It rewards the most successful horses, filtering through to
everyone involved in preparing the participants – from racehorse
trainers and stable staff to jockeys and their valets (who wash the silks,
scrub breeches and clean tack at racecourses all over Britain).The
total prize fund in Britain this year is estimated to be approximately £110
Million. In round terms, 40% is sourced from off-course betting through the
Levy Board, 15% from entry fees paid by owners and 45% from racecourses, some
of which is paid by commercial sponsors who benefit from the affiliation with
racing events. The
problem with striking a prize money agreement is that one size doesn’t fit all. At
Cartmel, we have historically received less central funding from the Levy Board
than other tracks and our own contribution to prize money is more than 51% of
the total prize fund. In our efforts to gain improved central funding, we don’t
really want to be shackled to larger direct contributions – which would have a
knock on effect on general maintenance and improvement projects at the
racecourse. The
success of horseracing, especially when negotiating future deals with the
off-course betting industry, depends on close collaboration between all
factions of the sport. For this reason, I am certain that we shall be able to
add Cartmel’s name to the list of racecourses, that have signed prize money
agreements, in the very near future. Talks this week have been positive. In the meantime, for
this week’s selection we are heading to France, where I’m trusting in Novellist
to write his own headlines by winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.

About the Author

Jonathan has made a career out of being a racing geek - having spent time running The Sun newspaper's "Punters Club", the (long departed) Sporting Life's Green-card Service, Worcester Racecourse, Fontwell Park, Scottish Racing Marketing Ltd and now the iconic Cartmel Racecourse.

In his spare time he likes to study form and go to the races.

All opinions, recommendations or forecasts, expressed or implied within the blog or website, are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.

Users are solely responsible for any consequences resulting from acting on information included in the blog or on the website. Neither Jonathan Garratt nor Cartmel Racecourse is in anyway liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss, damage or expense incurred by readers or users of the blog or website.

Where applicable, independent financial advice should be obtained. Past results are not in any way a guarantee of future success.